一支黑色蠟筆

文/Allison Bizal（美） 譯/張佳藝

我在寧夏銀川一所特別的高中任教。站在學(xué)校頂樓，可見藍(lán)天和賀蘭山相映相襯，美景盡收眼底。論起這所學(xué)校的特別之處，當(dāng)數(shù)每年來(lái)這里學(xué)習(xí)、生活的學(xué)生。他們來(lái)自省內(nèi)各地，大多出自貧困的農(nóng)莊。對(duì)其而言，在這所學(xué)校學(xué)習(xí)是他們?yōu)樽约汉图胰碎_啟新生活的難得機(jī)會(huì)。

I teach at a very special High School in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. From the top fl oor of the campus, you can see the Helan Mountains under a clear blue sky. The school is made special because of the students who come here every year to live and study. They come from every corner of the Province, mostly from small and often poor farming villages. Studying at this school is an amazing opportunity for them. It's their chance to begin a new life for themselves and their families.

當(dāng)然，他們必須把握這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)：必須努力學(xué)習(xí)，必須按時(shí)完成作業(yè)，必須遵循嚴(yán)格的課表。他們每個(gè)月都要進(jìn)行月考，為高考沖刺而厲兵秣馬?；蛟S最艱難的事在于他們第一次背井離鄉(xiāng)吧。諸此種種都會(huì)加重生活壓力，至少在外國(guó)人眼中是這樣的。

Of course, they must earn this chance. They must study hard. They must complete homework on time, and cope with a rigorous class schedule. And they practice for the gaokao every month thanks to exams. Perhaps the toughest thing of all is that they are away from their families and homes for the fi rst time. All this leads to a very stressful life, at least to a foreigner's eyes.

盡管日程安排很緊張，但這些出色的學(xué)生大都能保持著積極的心態(tài)。他們孜孜不倦，雖少有空暇，但待人熱情，讓人如沐春風(fēng)。他們也許疲憊不堪，但仍積極參與課堂。肩負(fù)重?fù)?dān)，卻樂(lè)在其中。最重要的是，他們誠(chéng)心實(shí)意，這讓我深受觸動(dòng)。但教學(xué)也并非一帆風(fēng)順，難就難在學(xué)生常常害羞。

Despite their hectic schedule, most of these amazing students maintain a very positive attitude. They must work hard and have little free time, but they are warm and welcoming. They might be tired, but they stay eager to participate in class. They carry huge responsibilities on their shoulders, but are always ready to have fun. Most of all, I am impressed by their honesty. One thing makes teaching these students a little dif fi cult - they are usually very shy!

不過(guò)這倒是無(wú)可非議。大多數(shù)學(xué)生可能只在熒屏中看到過(guò)外國(guó)人，而這些電視電影節(jié)目并不能精細(xì)地勾勒出外國(guó)人的樣貌。換位試想下，一個(gè)外國(guó)人走進(jìn)你的教室首次教學(xué)的場(chǎng)景。所以，贏得學(xué)生信任在工作中至關(guān)重要。很多方法都可以做到這一點(diǎn)，但有些效果明顯，有些效果甚微。

This is perfectly understandable, of course. Chances are, most of the students have only seen foreigners in movies or television shows,which don't always portray people well. Imagine having a foreigner come into your classroom and start teaching for the fi rst time! So of course, earning the student's trust is an important part of the job.There are many ways to do this. Some are very obvious, and other methods less so.

建立信任的最好辦法是創(chuàng)造讓學(xué)生用英語(yǔ)闡釋中國(guó)文化的機(jī)會(huì)。這是挑戰(zhàn)，卻值得一試。

My favorite way to build trust is by developing opportunities to allow the students to express things about Chinese culture while using English. It can be challenge, but one that is well worth the trouble.

其中一個(gè)最好的例子是在被我簡(jiǎn)稱為“旗幟”的課上發(fā)現(xiàn)的。這是我教的第一堂課，學(xué)生似乎很喜歡。課上，我們一起欣賞了世界上其他國(guó)家的國(guó)旗，探索每面國(guó)旗是如何通過(guò)顏色、形狀和符號(hào)來(lái)講述本國(guó)故事的。例如，尼泊爾的國(guó)旗以其獨(dú)特的三角形講述了喜馬拉雅山的故事。

One of the best examples of this is found in a lesson I've simply titled “Flags.” It is one of the fi rst lessons I teach and the students really seem to enjoy it. During the lesson, we look at flags from countries around the world. We explore how each fl ag uses colors,shapes, and symbols to tell the story of its country. For example, the flag of Nepal tells the story of the Himalayan mountains with its unique triangular shape.

下課前，我請(qǐng)學(xué)生設(shè)計(jì)一面代表寧夏的旗幟，讓他們以一種獨(dú)特的方式自己編排故事。學(xué)生積極“應(yīng)戰(zhàn)”，作品讓人嘆為觀止：湛藍(lán)的天空，赤紅的枸杞。他們沿著中國(guó)國(guó)旗上的五顆星星繪制了寧夏五寶。漢語(yǔ)、阿拉伯語(yǔ)和英語(yǔ)的單詞和口號(hào)相襯得毫不違和。這些旗幟真實(shí)地講述了寧夏故事，呈現(xiàn)出寧夏輝煌絕倫的歷史、文化和多樣性。

For the final of this lesson, I ask the students to design a flag for Ningxia. This allows them to tell their stories in a unique way. The students really do rise to the challenge and create amazing flags.You can see the blue of the sky and the red of goji berries. They show off Ningxia's Five Treasures alongside the five stars of the People's Republic of China's flag. Words and slogans written in Chinese, Arabic, and English come together in harmony. The fl ags truly do tell the story of Ningxia and re fl ect the incredible history,diversity, and culture of the province.

大多數(shù)的普通教室都不配備美術(shù)用品，所以我自己帶了一些給學(xué)生使用。我有一大包記號(hào)筆、彩色鉛筆和蠟筆。那盒蠟筆最為特別，是幾年前一位老師從美國(guó)帶來(lái)的。學(xué)生們興奮不已，在設(shè)計(jì)旗幟時(shí)很好地利用了這些物資。

Most regular classrooms are not equipped with art supplies, so I bring my own for the students to use. I have a big bag of markers,colored pencils, and crayons. One box of crayons is special, it was brought from America years ago by a previous teacher. The students are very excited and use the supplies well while designing their fl ags.

我在那一周向800多名學(xué)生講授課程。因此，這些美術(shù)用品難免有丟失或損壞現(xiàn)象。可能是記號(hào)筆丟了筆蓋，可能是蠟筆斷成兩截，也有極少的物件完全失蹤。

I teach this lesson to over 800 students during the week. So,inevitably, a few of the art supplies go missing or are damaged.Maybe a marker loses its cap, or a crayon breaks in half. Very rarely,and item disappears entirely.

有一天，丟失情況比以往嚴(yán)重。美國(guó)進(jìn)口的那盒蠟筆中，黑色的一支失蹤了。我猜想可能是從桌子上掉下去了，也可能是被誤裝進(jìn)鉛筆盒中了，或者是掉進(jìn)敞口的背包里了。即使我翻找過(guò)了背包、錢包和其他物件，仍然足有一百萬(wàn)種原因可以解釋它的失蹤。

On day, a loss hit me a little harder than usual. The black crayon from my special box of crayons from America went missing. I imagined that it had fallen off a desk, disappeared into a pencil case, or found its way into an open backpack. About a million different things could have explained why it was gone, even after searching my bag, purse, and other items.

接下來(lái)的一周開了新課，我的學(xué)生繼續(xù)互相了解。我已經(jīng)忘記了遺失黑色蠟筆的事。然而在一天的課程結(jié)束后，我竟然在錢包中找到了那支蠟筆，當(dāng)時(shí)我格外驚訝。這是一個(gè)全新的錢包，所以蠟筆是不可能在過(guò)了一個(gè)周末后仍然藏在那里的。

The next week lead to a new lesson. My students continued to learn about each other. I'd forgotten about the missing black crayon. You can imagine my surprise then, when I found the crayon in my purse after a day of classes. It was a brand new purse, so it would have been impossible the crayon had hidden there over the weekend.

找到蠟筆似乎是件小事，但對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)卻意義重大。我的一位學(xué)生找到了遺失的蠟筆，念念不忘，把它交還給我。其實(shí)他大可不必歸還的，我根本記不起是在何時(shí)何地遺失的?？蛇@名學(xué)生找到蠟筆后，保管了一個(gè)星期，然后以一種簡(jiǎn)單又低調(diào)的方式將其歸還。

Finding that crayon seems like a very small thing, but it means a lot to me. One of my students, having found the missing crayon, cared enough to return it to me. They didn't have to return it. I had no idea where or when during the day it had gotten lost. The student had found the crayon, kept it safe for a week, then returned it in a simple and unassuming way.

這些學(xué)生很特別，但這件小事讓我尤為觸動(dòng)。我學(xué)校里的這些學(xué)生善良誠(chéng)實(shí)，未來(lái)會(huì)是一片坦途。在中國(guó)期間，我的經(jīng)歷頗豐，但黑色蠟筆的故事始終是我最愿意與人分享的。

I knew the students were special, but this simple incident hit things home for me. The students at my school have bright and promising futures, but for now they are kind and honest children. I have had much grander experiences during my time in China, but the story of the Black Crayon is my favorite to tell.